World's oldest person dies in US, at 116

Besse Cooper, sits in her room at a nursing home, in Monroe. Cooper, the woman who was listed as the world's oldest person has died on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 in a Georgia nursing home at age 116, according to her son Sidney Cooper. AP/David Goldman

The world's oldest person, American Besse Cooper, died on Tuesday at the age of 116, CNN reported.

She passed away in Monroe, Georgia, east of Atlanta, her son Sidney told the television network.

Cooper "had a long, good life. She went very easy," he said.

Guinness World Records gave Cooper the distinction of being the oldest living human in January 2011. She was born August 26, 1896 in Tennessee.

When asked for her secret to longevity, Cooper once said: "I mind my own business and I don't eat junk food."

She married her husband Luther in 1924, and they had four children. As of her 114th birthday, Cooper has 12 grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In the same year Cooper was born, the first Dow Jones Industrial Average was published, the first modern Olympic games were held and the first Ford vehicle was built.